Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie's bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton's premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it's on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape...or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive.

Gardens of Delight

The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in Italy. For Lucy, the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Helen and her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home, Helen throws herself into caring for the garden. But Helen needs help. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening.

What made the experience of listening to Gardens of Delight the most enjoyable?

Interesting variety of characters.

What did you like best about this story?

Good descriptions of a trip to the lake district of Italy.

What does Jilly Bond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her Italian accents are excellent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it was slow in places and I took longer than usual to finish it.

Any additional comments?

I wasn't sure I would like this as it started rather slowly with some unlikeable characters. Also the ending was not exactly what I expected. I enjoyed the development of the story, especially once the scene shifted to Italy.

Bath Tangle

The Earl of Spenborough has always been noted for his eccentricity. Leaving a widow younger than his own daughter Serena is one thing, but quite another is leaving Serena's fortune to the trusteeship of the Marquis of Rotherham -- a man whom Serena once jilted and who now has the power to give or withhold his consent to any marriage she might contemplate. When Serena and her lovely young stepmother Fanny decide to move to Bath, Serena makes an odd new friend and discovers an old love, Major Hector Kirkby.

I collect Heyer's books and have reread them many times. This isn't my favorite Heyer and wouldn't recommend it as the first Heyer to read. Serena and Rotherham are almost unlikeable, as if the author wanted to see if she could make us care about them in spite of ourselves. Some reviews said he was missing in too much of the book; however, when he does appear, attention must be paid as we learn important things about him. I enjoyed Sian's reading, because when I read the book I skip a lot. She makes every scene count and brings all the characters to life. As others have said, I couldn't stop listening until the tangle was un-tangled. This is a different kind of heroine and there's much to love for a Heyer fan.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle - and people in general - has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands.

I don't think this was the book for me. I didn't see the humor when the whining about Seattle, and Canadians, became repetitive. I listened to more than a third of the book and although I could see where it was going, I just didn't care about or like the characters.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kathleen Wilhoite?

I'm not sure if a different narrator would have made a difference, but I didn't care for this one.

It Happened One Autumn: Wallflower Series #2

Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren’t entirely “the thing.” And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London’s most eligible aristocrat.

The Convenient Marriage

When the most eligible Earl of Rule offers for the hand of the beauty of the Winwood family, he has no notion of the distress he causes his intended. For Miss Lizzie Winwood is promised to the excellent, but impoverished, Mr Edward Heron. Disaster can only be averted by the delightful impetuosity of her youngest sister, Horatia, who conceives her own, distinctly original plans . . .

If you could sum up The Convenient Marriage in three words, what would they be?

Sparkling vintage Heyer.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Horry and Rule, of course.

Which character – as performed by Caroline Hunt – was your favorite?

Hunt does an excellent job with all the characters. The narrator just disappears and the story flows along.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This story isn't my very favorite Heyer but the way she develops the relationship between Horatia and Rule is subtle and moving. I have re-read it more than once and will definitely listen to this version again.

Breathing Room

Sometimes in life you need a little breathing room, especially when your life has just fallen apart. Dr. Isabel Favor, America's diva of self help, knows this all too well. She's lost her fiancé to an earth mother, her accountant has absconded with her money, and her self-help empire is in shambles. She flees the country to Tuscany, waiting for life to settle down, but the biggest disaster lies just ahead. On one unforgettable night, she's about to meet Lorenzo Gage, Hollywood's favorite villain.

This wasn't my favorite SEP title. It seemed dark at the beginning--our heroine was really burdened with problems and our hero didn't seem like the solution to any of them. The book seemed long and didn't hold my interest. The subplot was also too dark for my taste. But I did finish it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Susan Elizabeth Phillips? Why or why not?

I have loved several of her books, and enjoy the humor in them.

What about Kate Fleming’s performance did you like?

She does a good job of capturing both male and female voices and also the Italian accents were convincing.

Catch of the Day

When Gwen Fletcher moves to Misty Harbor, Maine to fulfill her dream of opening her own restaurant, she isn't prepared for the throng of suitors who want to pay homage to the town's only bachelorette. Much to the dismay of the town's gentlemen, Gwen has only two things on her mind - getting her restaurant open before the tourist season begins and getting to know carpenter Daniel Creighton. But the uncooperative Creighton's odd behavior may preclude her from doing either of these.

Twenties Girl

When the spirit of Lara's great-aunt Sadie - a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance - mysteriously appears, she has one last request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie's possession for more than 75 years, and Sadie cannot rest without it. Lara, on the other hand, has a number of ongoing distractions.

Not sure this is my favorite Kinsella, but it was very enjoyable. I love her intricate plots. This one requires a complete suspension of disbelief, even without the presence of the ghost. But it's always fun to see how masterfully this author wraps up all the plot lines. After getting her characters into impossible situations, she magically gets them out. I enjoyed these characters and the period details. A yummy hero too. Landor does a good job with a rather difficult challenge, since Aunt Sadie was probably not easy to portray.

Get Real

Eluding the law has always been high on Dortmunder's list. But getting caught red-handed is inevitable in his next caper, when a TV producer convinces this thief and his merry gang to star in a reality show that captures their next score. The producer even guarantees to keep the show from being used as evidence against them. They're dubious at first, but the pay's good, so they sign on.

This is the last novel about John Dortmunder and his gang of thieves that Westlake wrote before his death in 2008. You don't have to read them in order; the first one was The Hot Rock. Even minor characters are colorfully portrayed and the gang members seem like old friends. This one has a clever premise and Westlake is just having a lot of fun spinning out the twists in the story in his own sweet time.

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